It's been a whole two years since I was last in Pittsburgh. Which blows my damn mind. In case you weren't aware, Pennsylvania is a big state, you guys; it takes almost at much time to get to Pittsburgh from Philly as is does to get from Philly to Boston. And when Chris and I are met with several days off in a row, our instinct is to always drive NORTH. Why this is, I couldn't tell you. But our internal compasses are always pointed directly upwards. But with a four day weekend in front of us for Memorial Day, we bucked tradition and decided to pay our friends, and the city we used to call home, a visit. The drive was long but gorgeous, just as expected. This state really is beautiful.

Hopping in the car on Friday afternoon, we rolled in to Pittsburgh around 9 PM, which gave me enough time to get briefly lost, drop Chris with our friend Ryan, and meet up with two of my best Pittsburgh lady friends for dinner at Spork and then drinks the new Ace Hotel. So much has changed in the two years since we split for Philly, East Liberty looks like an entirely new city while Bloomfield (save for Penn Ave.) looks precisely the same as when we left it. Change is to be expected, I know, but I think it's especially noticeable in smaller cities (I'd say the same for Portland, ME, which seems to transform more and more between visits). It's bittersweet - change can be good, but it's sad to see old haunts and beautiful architecture be replaced with the often homogeneous apartment buildings and name-brand stores you see everywhere. We woke to gloriously sunny skies and blazing heat on Saturday and after a big breakfast headed out in the direction of Juju. I was so excited to see Leslie's storefront - and it didn't disappoint! So, so gorgeous, and filled with basically everything I love in this world. After our walk to Point Breeze, Chris and I headed down to Smoke for a late lunch/very early dinner. Smoke was one of our go-to's when it was still in Homestead. It was close to our first PGH apartment, and we'd often find ourselves there after grabbing groceries or before catching a movie. It's since moved to a larger space in Lawrenceville, but the menu is just as good as it's always been. If you ever find yourself in Pittsburgh, I can't recommend it enough. Everything is good. Sunday promised slightly more threatening weather, so after grabbing breakfast at the Millvale diner, we holed up at Spirit with our friend Ryan for most of the day (which is maybe a little embarrassing), before departing to Dormont to catch fireworks with even more friends. Monday it was time to say goodbye, but not before a stop in Braddock to see a friend's incredible new home.

It was a low key weekend, for sure, but exactly what I wanted it to be. Spent exactly how it would have been if we still called Pittsburgh home. I'm glad we made the drive, too. Maybe from here on our our compasses will be pointed westward more often.

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